Best Dispersed Camping near Bend, OR

We kind of stumbled into this free spot while heading to a more formal campground near Pelton Dam. As the daylight faded I spotted a pullout/turnaround area which then led to a rather private loop with a great view of the Deschutes River and Lake Simtustus. I had to confirm with the Dyrt BLM map overlay, but I was glad to find myself on public land. It’s not really a place I’d choose to spend more than one night, since it doesn’t really connect to any trails or walking areas, but it was a handy en-route overnight spot, complete with a nice view and bright sunset. It’s only a few miles off Rt. 26, following signs to Pelton Dam. There was plenty of room to turn around my 26’ skoolie. However, I didn’t really see a good place for a tent, but I didn’t look very hard. There were signs of previous users, including a fire ring (which I didn’t use). Since it was the eve of Earth Day, I did collect a bagful of empty cans and trash. Leave no trace, people!

Just a forest service road. The area close to the road is closed to camping entirely. I showed up at 1am and missed that part since I'm so used to seeing no campFIRES and was hassled by a local for making their scenic walk less pretty. But if you look at the map posted you just need to be further in from the road - you'll see new signs for 14-day limits. Lots of mountain bikers riding past since there are a ton of trails out here. They also seem to be grumpy about seeing a vehicle parked out here, but oh well. 

I don't know who is marking this area for services and water and toilets and RV hookups.... it's just a dirt road. However I do get 2-3 bars LTE on AT&T and Verizon even further in where you can camp.

We were looking for a dispersed camping site on Forest Service land outside of cell range so we used The Dyrt PRO maps to help us find this spot. It is just off of paved roads on a smooth gravel road that our RV easily handled - it is a pull off from Whiskey Jack road and has room for 1 RV or several tents on flat land with some soft ground cover from grass and pine needles. There are no services so this is dry camping and you’ll need to be self sufficient. There is a fire pit circle but with recent fires we wouldn’t use it and it may be prohibited. I am sure this road could be snowed in in winter months but was dry and clear in June. We picked the spot with fewer trees as we were testing out a Starlink satellite dish on our RV to see if we could get internet access deep in the woods. Lots of ponderosa pines, manzanita bushes, and chirping birds in warm weather days and cool nights. There is some traffic passing the site during the day but there is a road that a 4 wheel drive could travel if you wanted to get away from the road for some extra privacy and quiet. Overall a classic Oregon Cascades mountain meadow location that is only 10-15 minutes off highway 20 and makes you feel like you are in the middle of nowhere to rest and rejuvenate!

I was just passing through and saw a spot to pull over for a bit. I didn’t even realize until the morning this was a spot on Dyrt. It was so peaceful along the river and was a beautiful sunset view and next thing I remember was waking up with the sun coming up.

No facilities here it’s just a spot to park and experience the beauty of being out on the road.

Mild note caution, more a heads up. I came from Bend/Redmund via Madras. From Madras, the GPS took me on NW Pelton Dam Rd through Pelton Park: totally worth it for the views I loved it but there was a short but surprisingly steep windy section of road dropping you from the farmland down into the canyon. It’s my first trailer and my first time hitting a section that steep so I definitely smoked my brakes. You can also come to this spot from the north instead of the south, or just don’t be surprised, don’t do what I did and ride your brakes down the hill just use lower gears, don’t gain any speed, and enjoy the view longer!